LETTER-WRITING GUIDE INTRODUCTION This guide is for researchers who do not speak but must write to Poland for genealogical records. It includes a list of sentences you would use in a letter about genealogical records and translations of these sentences. The best sources of genealogical information in Poland are records of births, marriages, and deaths kept by churches and civil registration offices. The Family History Library has microfilm copies of these records for many, but not all, localities. Use the Family History Library Catalog to determine what records are available through the library and the Family History Centers. If records are available from the library it is usually faster and more productive to search these records first. If the records you want are not available through the library, you can use this guide to help you write to Poland for information. BEFORE YOU WRITE Before you write to Poland for family history information, you should do three things: C C Determine exactly where your ancestor was born, was married, lived, or died. Because most genealogical sources were recorded locally, you will need to know the specific locality where your ancestor was born, was married, lived, or died. See the library s publication Tracing Immigrant Origins (34111) for help in finding hometowns. Determine your ancestor s religion. Because most early records were kept by churches or synagogues rather than civil registration offices, you may need to write to the church your ancestor attended in his or her hometown. If you are not sure what your ancestor s religion was in Europe, determine what religion he or she practiced after immigrating. People usually did not change religions when they moved from Europe to their new home. C Determine where records from your ancestor s home parish are stored today. When you have a locality name, use a gazetteer to determine which parish or civil jurisdiction served your ancestor s locality. RESEARCH BY MAIL Church records are obtained from parishes, and civil records are obtained from civil registration offices. Both kinds of records may be stored in archives. In 1874 civil registration became mandatory in Poland, yet it started at different times throughout the country. If the dates you need precede 1874, you will need to write for church records. If you address your letter to a parish or local civil registration office, you must write the letter in. Letters written in have a greater chance of receiving a reply than those written in English. You may write in English to the Directorate of State Archives. How to Address the Envelope For a Roman Catholic Parish: Parafia Rzymsko-Katolicka (postal code) (name of locality) For a Protestant Parish: Parafia Ewangelicka (postal code) (name of locality) Very few Protestant parishes still exist in modern-day Poland. Some records formerly found in such parishes may be housed in local Catholic parishes. For a list of the Protestant parishes in Poland and their addresses, see: Kalendarz ewangelicki (Yearbook of the Augsburg Evangelical [Lutheran] church of Poland). (FHL book 943.8 K24ke; film 1183508 item 4.)
For an Orthodox Parish: Parafia Prawos awna (postal code) (name of locality) For a Civil Registration Office: Urz d Stanu Cywilnego (postal code) (name of locality) For the Directorate of State Archives: Naczelna Dyrekcja Archiwów Pa stwowych ul. D uga 6, skr. poczt. 1005 00-950 Warszawa Fax: 011-48-22-31-75-63 Postal Codes When addressing your letter you will need to write the postal (zip) code in front of the name of the town you are writing to. For help finding postal codes for Poland, see: Oficjalny spis pocztowych numerów adresowych (Official zip code directory for Poland). (FHL book Ref Area 943.8 E8o.) If your town is not listed, use the following gazetteer to determine where the closest post office is located: Spis miejscowo ci Polskiej Rzeczypospolitej Ludowej (Gazetteer of Localities of the People s Republic). (FHL book Ref Area 943.8 E5s, film 2037058 item 2.) Towns in Poland are listed alphabetically. The post office is given in the fifth column, under the heading Poczta. How to Send Payments Writing to a Parish. When writing to a parish it is a good idea to send a donation of $5.00 to $10.00 as a courtesy. Do not send a personal check, which is difficult and expensive to exchange in Europe. Cash is better since it is most easily converted to European currency, but be aware of the risks in sending it. Writing to a Civil Registration Office. When writing to the local civil registration office enclose $10.00 in your first letter. The office may bill you in addition to that for its services. You may be asked to make the check payable to its account number. Writing to Government Organizations. When writing to the Directorate of State Archives, do not send money in your first letter. The staff will bill you for their services. You may be asked to make the check payable to the archive s account number. If you wish, you may write first to determine its fees before making a request. However, this will significantly increase the time it takes to get information. WHAT TO EXPECT It may take six months or longer for you to receive a reply to your request for information. Airmail improves the response time. The results of writing to parishes or civil registration offices can vary greatly. You may get a great deal of information, or you may get no answer at all. Some clergy and civil registrars are willing and able to provide considerable information while others are not. When you receive a reply, send the requested payment and a note of thanks or acknowledgment. If you need to request further information, refer to your earlier letters and their return letters by date. You may want to include photocopies of any previous correspondence. If the archive assigned you a reference number, include that number as well. Use -English dictionaries to help you understand the reply. Sometimes you can hire accredited genealogists to translate for you. The Family History Library also has published Genealogical Word List in (34098), which may be helpful. If you do not receive an answer, write again, sending a copy of your first letter. Do not send more money unless you verify that your first letter did not arrive. HOW TO WRITE A LETTER IN POLISH Your letter should include: the date (at the top). the name and address of the addressee. a greeting. a brief introduction. biographical information about your ancestor. a short, specific genealogical request. referral request(s). a comment about payment. closing remarks. your signature. your return address (including your country). 2
Be brief and simple. Do not ask for too much at one time. The English-to- translations found below will help you compose your letter. Read the sentences in English, and choose those that best express what you want to say. Be sure to arrange your sentences logically. You may want to use the following English sentences to write your letter and then replace the sentences with their translations. However you proceed, make sure you type or neatly print your letter and, when necessary, add any diacritical marks and special characters (such as, ì, ô,,, ó,, Ø, Ô) with a pen. Do not use this guide as the letter itself! That might insult the recipient and lessen the chance of a reply. English Writing Dates Write dates in the European style: day-month-year. Write the full name of the month or use a Roman numeral. Write the year in full (1845, not 45). For example, April 7, 1890 should be written as 7. IV. 1890 or 7 kwietnia 1890. The following names of the months are shown in their possessive form, which is used in writing dates: January February March April May June July August September October November December stycznia lutego marca kwietnia maja czerwca lipca sierpnia wrze nia paôdziernika listopada grudnia Greetings Depending on whom your letter is addressed to, you will choose one of the following greetings. This will also affect some of your later sentences. The following sentences were written in the format of the first greeting. When addressing a priest or pastor, use the appropriate word indicated in parentheses. 1. Dear Sir (Civil, Government): 1. Szanowny Panie, 2. Dear Priest (Catholic or Orthodox): 2. Drogi KsiôØe, 3. Dear Pastor (Protestant): 3. Drogi Pastorze, 4. I live in the United States, but my ancestry is from Poland, and I would like to know more about my ancestors. 5. I am preparing a history of my ancestors in Poland and need information from your vital records. 6. My ancestors come from Poland. I would like to know more about them. 7. The following person is my ancestor who was born in Poland. I will give you all the vital data I have for this person. Introductions 4. Mieszkam w Stanach Zjednoczonych, ale moi przodkowie s polskiego pochodzenia. Chcia bym (chcia abym, if you are a female) dowiedzieì siô wiôcej o moich polskich przodkach. 5. Przygotowujô historiô moich przodków z Polski, dlatego potrzebne s mi pewne dane z ksi g metrykalnych. 6. Moi przodkowie pochodz z Polski. Chcia bym (Chcia abym, if you are a female) wiôcej o nich wiedzieì. 7. Nastôpuj ca osoba jest moim przodkiem urodzonym w Polsce. Podajô wszystkie dane, jakie mam o niej. 8. The following persons are my ancestors who were born in Poland. I will give all the vital data about them that I have. 8. Nastôpuj ce osoby s moimi przodkami urodzonymi w Polsce. Podajô wszystkie dane jakie mam o nich. 3
English Biographical Information Give as much pertinent information as possible. Use only those items below for which you can give accurate information that is relevant to your request. Do not give information about events that occurred after the ancestor left Poland. 9. a. Given name and surname: 9. a. Imiô i nazwisko: b. Date of birth (approximate): b. Data urodzenia (w przybliøeniu): c. Place of birth: c. Miejsce urodzenia: d. Date of christening: d. Data chrztu: e. Place of christening: e. Miejsce chrztu: f. Father s given name and surname: f. Imiô i nazwisko ojca: g. Mother s given name and maiden surname: g. Imiô i nazwisko panie skie matki: h. Husband s given name and surname: h. Imiô i nazwisko môøa: i. Wife s given name and maiden surname: i. Imiô i nazwisko panie skie Øony: j. Date of marriage: j. Data lubu: k. Place of marriage: k. Miejsce lubu: l. Date of death: l. Data zgonu: m. Place of death: m. Miejsce zgonu: n. Date of emigration: n. Data emigracji: o. Religion: Roman Catholic Greek Catholic Orthodox Protestant Jewish 10. Could you please check your birth registers from (year) to (year) for the birth record of this person? 11. Please send me a complete extract of the birth or christening record of (1) this person. (2) these persons. 12. Please send me a complete extract of the marriage record of (1) this person. (2) this person s parents. 13. I believe that (name) died in your locality about (year). I would like a complete extract of the death record. Genealogical Requests o. Wyznanie: rzymsko katolickie grecko katolickie prawos awne ewangelickie Øydowskie 10. Czy móg by Pan (Ksi dz, Pastor) znaleôì wiadectwo urodzenia tej osoby w przedziale lat od (year) do (year)? 11. Proszô o przes anie mi pe nego odpisu wiadectwa urodzenia albo chrztu (1) tej osoby. (2) tych osób. 12. Proszô o przes anie mi pe nego odpisu wiadectwa lubu (1) tej osoby. (2) jego (jej, if the ancestor is a female) rodziców 13. Przypuszczam, Øe (name) zmar (zmar a, if the deceased ancestor is a female) w tej miejscowo ci oko o roku (year). Proszô o przes anie mi pe nego odpisu wiadectwa zgonu tej osoby.. 4
English 14. I would like to know more about the family of this person. I would be grateful if you would provide the names and birth dates of the brothers and sisters and a copy of the marriage record of the parents. 15. I would like to locate any relatives who may be living in your area. My ancestor was (name). He (she) left for the United States in the year (year). He (she) resided in (town) before his (her) departure. If you know of any persons of this name or relatives of the family, I would be grateful if you would give this letter to them so that they can contact me. 16. I have searched the records for your parish covering the time period from (date) to (date). However, I need records for the years (year) to (year). Could you please inform me as to where these records can be found? 17. My relative worked as a (occupation) in (city). Do you have any information about this person? 18. I need information from the parish registers of the Protestant parish in (town); in German, (town). I will be most grateful if you would inform me where the records of this Protestant parish are presently found. 14. Chcia bym (Chcia abym, if you are a female) wiedzieì wiôcej o rodzinie tej osoby. By bym wdziôczny (By abym wdziôczna, if you are a female) za podanie nazwisk i dat urodzenia braci i sióstr oraz kopiô wiadectwa lubu rodziców. 15. Chcia bym (Chcia abym, if you are a female) znaleôì cz onka mojej rodziny, który (która, if the ancestor is a female) prawdopodobnie Øyje w Pana (Ksiôdza, if addressing a priest; Pastora, if addressing a pastor) okolicy. Nazwisko mojego przodka jest (name). Wyjecha on (Wyjecha a ona, if the ancestor is a female) do Stanów Zjednoczonych w roku (year). Przed wyjazdem mieszka on (mieszka a ona, if the ancestor is a female) w miejscowo ci o nazwie (town). Gdyby Pan (Ksi dz, if addressing a priest; Pastor, if addressing a pastor) zna kogo o tym nazwisku albo krewnych jego (jej, if the ancestor is a female) rodziny, by bym wdziôczny (by abym wdziôczna, if you are a female) za przekazanie im tego listu, aby mogli oni skontaktowaì siô ze mn. 16. Prowadzi em badania (prowadzi am, if you are a female) zapisów dokonywanych w tej parafii w okresie od (date) do (date). Chcia bym (Chcia abym, if you are a female) teraz otrzymaì dane z przedzia u lat od (year) do (year). Czy móg by mnie Pan (Ksi dz, if addressing a priest; Pastor, if addressing a pastor) poinformowaì, gdzie mogô znaleôì te zapisy? 17. Mój krewny pracowa (pracowa a, if the ancestor is a female) jako (occupation) w miejscowo ci o nazwie (city). Czy ma Pan (Ksi dz, if addressing a priest; Pastor, if addressing a pastor) jakiekolwiek informacje_ o nim (niej, if the ancestor is a female)? 18. Potrzebne mi s dane z ksi g parafialnych Ko cio a Ewangelickiego z miejscowo ci (town); której niemiecka nazwa brzmia a (town). By bym bardzo wdziôczny (By abym bardzo wdziôczna, if you are a female) za informacje, gdzie s teraz te zapisy. 5
English 19. My ancestor was a Greek-Catholic. He (she) resided in (town). I would like to locate the christening and marriage records of the Greek- Catholic parish. Are these records available in your (1) parish office? (2) archive? If you do not have the records, could you provide the address where they may be found? 20. For my family research I need information from the Jewish records of births, marriages, and deaths from your community. Do you know where such records are presently located? 21. If you do not have the necessary records, I request that you provide the address of the place where such records can be found. 19. Mój przodek by Greko-Katolikiem (Greko- Katoliczk, if the ancestor is a female). Mieszka on (Mieszka a ona, if the ancestor is a female) w miejscowo ci (town). Chcia bym (Chcia abym, if you are a female) znaleôì jego (jej, if the ancestor is a female) wiadectwo urodzenia i lubu. Czy s one dostôpne w Pana (Ksiôdza, if addressing a priest; Pastora, if addressing a pastor) (1) biurze? (2) archiwach? Je li Pan (Ksi dz, if addressing a priest; Pastor, if addressing a pastor) ich nie ma, czy móg bym (mog abym, if you are a female) dowiedzieì siô, gdzie one s? 20. Do bada historii mojej rodziny, potrzebne s mi dane z Øydowskich wiadectw urodzin, lubów oraz mierci z Pana (Ksiôdza, if addressing a priest; Pastora, if addressing a pastor) okolicy. Czy Pan wie, gdzie s obecnie takie zapisy? Referral Requests 21. Je li Pan (Ksi dz, if addressing a priest; Pastor, if addressing a pastor) nie dysponuje informacjami, których potrzebujô, chcia bym (chcia abym, if you are a female) dowiedzieì siô, gdzie mogô je znaleôì. 22. If you are unable to do this research for me, could you please recommend a local researcher that I could hire for this purpose someone who speaks some English, if possible. 22. Je li otrzymanie powyøszych informacji jest niemoøliwe, czy móg by Pan (Ksi dz, if addressing a priest; Pastor, if addressing a pastor) podaì mi adres kogo z tamtej okolicy, kto B za wynagrodzeniem B zechcia by mi pomóc i je li to moøliwe, zna trochô jôzyk angielski. 23. Would you please inform me if it is possible to obtain photocopies from your records and the cost of such copies. Payment 23. Czy moøna otrzymaì kserokopie dokumentów i za jak op at? 24. Please let me know how I can make an offering to your parish in gratitude for your help. 25. I have enclosed $ (amount) as a donation for your parish. 26. Thank you very much for your help. I have enclosed $ (amount). 27. Please let me know the cost of your help and how I can pay. 24. Czy wolno mi, jako wyraz wdziôczno ci za okazan pomoc, z oøyì ofiarô na ko ció? 25. Za czam kwote (amount) dolarów jako ofiarô na ko ció. 26. Dziôkujô bardzo za pomoc. Za czam kwotô (amount) dolarów. 27. Proszô napisaì do mnie, ile siô naleøy za pomoc i w jaki sposób mogô za ni zap aciì. 6
English Closing Remarks and Return Address 28. I thank you in advance for your assistance. 28. Z góry dziôkujô za pomoc. 29. Respectfully, 29. Z szacunkiem, With regards, 30. Sincerely, 30. Z powaøaniem, 31. My address is: (address) 31. Mój adres: (address) Follow-up Use these sentences in follow-up letters as needed. 32. Thank you for the information you have sent. It has helped me very much. 33. I need further information about one of the individuals you mentioned in your letter. This is (name). 34. I have already received from you the following information about this person: 35. I am enclosing a copy of a letter I sent you on (date). Please write and tell me if you can do this research. 32. Dziôkujô za nades ane mi informacje. Bardzo mi one pomog y. 33. Potrzebne mi s dalsze informacje o (name) wspomnianym (wspomnianej, if the ancestor is a female) w Pana (Ksiôdza, if addressing a priest; Pastora, if addressing a pastor) li cie. 34. Dotychczas otrzyma em (otrzyma am, if you are a female) od Pana (Ksiôdza, if addressing a priest; Pastora, if addressing a pastor) nastôpuj ce informacje o tej osobie: 35. Dotychczas otrzyma em (otrzyma am, if you are a female) od Pana (Ksiôdza, if addressing a priest; Pastora, if addressing a pastor) nastôpuj ce informacje o tej osobie: EXAMPLE LETTER: Date 28 sierpnia 1999 Addressee Greeting Introduction Parafia Rzymsko-Katolicka 32-720 Nowy Wi nicz Drogi KsiôØe, Mieszkam w Stanach Zjednoczonych, ale moi przodkowie s polskiego pochodzenia. Chcia bym dowiedzieì siô wiôcej o moich polskich przodkach. Nastôpuj ca osoba jest moim przodkiem urodzonym w Polsce. Podajô wszystkie dane, jakie mam o niej. Biographical Information Imiô i nazwisko: Joannes KRUPA Data urodzenia: 15 maja 1877 Miejsce urodzenia: Po om DuØy, Kraków, Polska Wyznanie: rzymsko katolickie 7
Genealogical Request Referral Requests Proszô o przes anie mi pe nego odpisu wiadectwa urodzenia albo chrztu tej osoby. Je li Ksi dz nie dysponuje informacjami, których potrzebujô, chcia bym dowiedzieì siô, gdzie mogô je znaleôì. Payment Za czam kwote $10 dolarów jako ofiarô na ko ció. Closing Z góry dziôkujô za pomoc. Z powaøaniem, Signature Moj adres: Return Address John Doe 674 Q Street Salt Lake City, UT 84103 USA COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS The Family History Library welcomes additions and corrections that will improve future editions of this guide. Please send your suggestions to: Publications Coordination Family History Library 35 North West Temple Salt Lake City, Utah 84150-3400 USA 2000 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA English approval: 04/00 No part of this document may be reprinted, posted online, or reproduced in any form for any purpose without the prior written permission of the publisher. Send all requests for such permission to: Copyrights and Permissions Coordinator Family and Church History Department 50 E. North Temple Street Salt Lake City, Utah 84150-3400 USA Fax: 1-801-240-2494 36339 4 02363 39000 0 36339 8